here's our cbs news national security correspondent david martin. >> reporter: everybody who was alive at the time remembers it. the iran hostage crisis. 53 americans held captive at the american embassy in tehran and then the agony of a failed rescue attempt which left eight american servicemen dead. what you might have forgotten is that there was another rescue mission, one that succeeded >> this is the only thing that we did in iran that worked. >> reporter: and tony men degrees was the guy who made it work. the man known as the c.i.a.'s master of disguise went into tehran and brought out six u.s. diplomats under the noses of revolutionaries chanting, death to america." >> just like robbing banks except in our case we had to make it look like the money was still there >> the other guy doesn't know he's been robbed >> and he's happy. reporter: that was 32 years ago. men degrees is now retired, slowd by age and illness. but he is about to appear on the big screen played by ben affleck >> my name is tony men degrees reporter: affleck is the star and director of argo which, as they say